JapanSugoi

A good way for foreign tourists to get around and see the sights of Tokyo is to take the famous and popular Hato Bus sightseeing tours.   Tourists take the bright yellow Hato Buses all over Tokyo who half day and whole day tours.

Pretty and talented Japanese actress Kou Shibasaki 柴咲 コウ features in this TV commercial for ANA All Nippon Airlines promoting Okinawa as a holiday destination.  Have you made summer holiday plans yet?

Picturesque Kume Island (kumejima) in Okinawa is an 11km long coral sand clay and a natural geometric rock formation. The island is  30 mins by air and 3 and a half hours by ferry west of the main island of Okinawa. There are beautiful beaches here, especially the famous Eef beach.  The above photo taken from a para glider.

Nishizawa Valley 西沢渓谷 is one of the most beautiful valleys of the Chichibu-Tama-Kai National Park 秩父多摩甲斐国立公園 which houses the sources of major rivers such as the Arakawa River, Shinano River, Tama River and Fuefuki River (Fuji River).

There is a hiking trial in the valley and after about 1.5 hours of hiking, you reach the valley’s highlight, a very refreshing and romantic spot, the Nanatsugama-Godan-no-Taki, a beautiful five tiered waterfall.

A great place to take the Japanese girlfriend if you like hiking, the Nanatsugama-Godan-no-Taki waterfalls are especially scenic during spring and summer.

Don’t provoke the Monkeys Sign at Mt. Misen (535m high)  Shishiiwa Station, Miyajima Itsuku-shima. (Apparently there are some bad-ass monkeys who don’t like to be starred at!)

Miyajima is a small island less than an hour outside the city of Hiroshima. Since ancient times, Miyajima, the island itself, has been worshiped as a god. The primeval forest on Miyajima has been designated as a world heritage site with its huge diversity of flora, dynamic boulder-strewn landscape and a gorgeous panoramic view of the Seto Inland sea.

Echizen Katsuyama Castle (Echizen Katsuyama-jo) located in Katsuyama 勝山市 in Fukui prefecture and which features 3 large dragons was built in 1579.  Today the castle is a museum which proudly displays a collection of artifacts from Japan and China, some of which date back 700 years. The castle itself is five tiered and contains 10 floors.  At 57.8 meters, measured from the bottom rock wall to the top of the fish adorning the roof, Katsuyama Castle is the tallest in Japan.

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Noto Airport 能登空港 (aka Wajima Airport 輪島空港) is a modern, small class 3, domestic airport in the city of Wajima 輪島市 ( a town famous for its lacquerware 輪島塗) on the Noto Peninsula  能登半島 of Ishikawa Prefecture 石川県, in Western Japan.  The greenfield airport which has its only cute logo, was completed in mid 2003 and it has an interesting operating model.

Initially, Japanese airline All Nippon Airways (ANA) was only willing to operate one flight per day. Ishikawa Prefecture  suggested Japan’s first occupancy guarantee agreement (搭乗率保証制度), in which ANA agreed to operate two daily flights and in exchange Ishikawa Prefecture agreed to compensate ANA if occupancy fell below a set target (initially 70%) and gross ticket sales were under 200 million yen.  Read more...

Fresh seafood is always a draw in Japan.  Here are photos taken from the fish market at Makishi Public Market in Okinawa Japan.

Thinking of a warm place this cold winter? Try Aharen Beach 阿波連ビーチ in Tokashiki Island 渡嘉敷島 in Okinawa which belongs to the Kerama Island group 慶良間諸島, which are known for the world’s most transparent emerald green waters (50-60m transparency). These islands are also known as one of the world’s best diving destinations.

Valentines day is only 2 weeks away.  There are cute Japanese girls who are looking for foreign friends like you!  Check out who’s online at our Japansugoi Friends community now.